


will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends?

by ruthlessgame



Series: invisible string [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Crying, F/F, High School, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Making Up, a brief mention of kyle, im a lesbian okay?, slightly based on betty by taylor swift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:55:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25559182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruthlessgame/pseuds/ruthlessgame
Summary: Catra roughly places her foot on the pavement, bringing the skateboard under her to a sudden halt. Her thoughts are swirling frantically now, palms sweaty as she reaches down to grab at her skateboard.Running a hand through her curls, she gazes up at the familiar white house in front of her; teenagers are sprawled across the front lawn and porch with drinks in their hands. She can’t recognize any of them. The front porch light flickers in the blue of the night and a pop song can be heard faintly playing from the inside.It’s nightfall - a little after 10 PM - and Catra has impulsively decided to crash Adora’s end-of-the-summer party after a small talk with Scorpia over the phone.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: invisible string [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852189
Comments: 16
Kudos: 202





	will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends?

**Author's Note:**

> hi, i wrote this quickly because i kept listening to betty and imagining catradora - so i just threw this up on a google doc so it might b a bit ugly. hope u all enjoy though :333

> _Yeah, I showed up at your party_
> 
> _Will you have me? Will you love me?_
> 
> _Will you kiss me on the porch_
> 
> _In front of all your stupid friends_
> 
> _― betty_ , **Taylor Swift**

> _“Yes yes yes I do like you. I am afraid to write the stronger word.”_
> 
> _― The Letters of Virginia Woolf,_ Volume 3, **Virginia Woolf**

\- 

Catra roughly places her foot on the pavement, bringing the skateboard under her to a sudden halt. Her thoughts are swirling frantically now, palms sweaty as she reaches down to grab at her skateboard.

Running a hand through her curls, she gazes up at the familiar white house in front of her; teenagers are sprawled across the front lawn and porch with drinks in their hands. She can’t recognize any of them. The front porch light flickers in the blue of the night and a pop song can be heard faintly playing from the inside.

It’s nightfall - a little after 10 PM - and Catra has impulsively decided to crash Adora’s end-of-the-summer party after a small talk with Scorpia over the phone. 

Scorpia has a way of romanticizing life, knows how to make moments such as these feel dramatic, and is seemingly notorious for encouraging Catra to venture past her comfort zones. It used to bother her before, made Catra lash out with seething blood and bared teeth. But after a disastrous summer filled with heartbreak, regret, and _losing Adora_ \- Catra could use some of Scorpia’s romanticism. 

Now, Catra realizes ghosting Adora after she admitted her feelings was possibly the worst thing she’d ever done. Now, she’s ready to race through the night for her, to push past her stupid friends and hopefully see her face flush in joy at her arrival. 

Admittedly, Catra was afraid to confront her feelings at first. She’s always known she loved Adora, has always known Adora like the back of her hand - but the idea of Adora loving her back after their deep history left her scrambling. It just didn’t make sense; how could _Adora_ love someone as messy as her? 

And running away from the unknown was familiar to her; it wrapped her in a blanket of false protection and security, and usually - it was warm and steady enough to keep her guilt at bay. 

(This guilt gnawed at her for weeks though, and she refused to admit it until Scorpia talked some sense into her over the phone.)

But Adora is more familiar, she thinks; Adora is worth pushing aside the discomfort, is worth splitting the moon open for.

It just took her nearly all summer to realize that.

It was ridiculous - really - the way she frantically threw on some jeans after their phone call, grabbed her skateboard, and muttered a few words to her dad before dashing out the front door. She felt as if she were in the middle of a movie, skating quickly down the empty roads to Adora’s house - ready to unexpectedly crash her party and admit her undying love for her. 

And if Adora doesn’t accept her -

The house looks daunting now, its white walls screaming for her to leave - but Catra didn’t come all this way for nothing. Even if Adora screams at her, turns her face away - her apology will still exist between them. 

That counts for something, right?

She lets out a shaky exhale, forcing herself to step confidently into the stone pathway leading to the front doorsteps. She callously throws her skateboard onto the front lawn. The summer breeze runs up her brown arms, causing her to tremble. She almost wraps her arms around herself, but afraid of looking weak, opts to shove her hands into her pockets. 

The teenagers don’t look at her when she steps onto the front porch, too absorbed in whatever conversation they’re in. This close, they still remain unrecognizable. Catra takes that as a win; the idea of Adora’s friends seeing her first and possibly forcing her out sounds terrifying right now. 

Catra pushes the front door open. The lights inside are bright yellow, the sound of pop music now blasting in her ears. Dozens of bodies are piled around the entrance, their voices happy, and echoing off the walls. People she recognizes from her school are seated at the staircase in front of the doorway, and they’re mid-laugh when they stop to gape at Catra closing the door behind her. 

Catra assumes they know about her and Adora from how they stare at her now. Her ears twitch.

“Do you know where Adora is?” Catra asks, forcing her voice to not shake at the end. Her tail lashes behind her, betraying her attempt to hide her nerves.

“Uh, she’s in the back.” One boy - Kyle - squeaks.

“Thanks,” Catra mumbles, face flushed as she pushes her way past them, through the crowd of people, and into the hallway. Catra knows Adora is popular, but she didn’t expect she would have to push through her classmates to get to Adora’s kitchen. 

She briefly looks at the pictures hanging on the wall as she pushes through, the ones she’s seen hundreds of times in all her visits. They look different - somehow - after their few months apart. Her eyes dance across the faces smiling down at her, looking for one frame in particular - and there it is. 

The picture of Adora and Catra at 10 years old in soccer gear, still hanging proudly in its usual spot. Catra’s heart stutters; she takes it as another win. 

It’s all lost - though - once she enters the kitchen and happens to bump right into someone passing by a bit too slowly for her liking. A growl escapes her lips before she can even process it.

“Watch it,” she spits in annoyance, and then she realizes in horror that the person has pink hair - 

“Catra?” Glimmer screeches, whipping around to glare at her. Catra lets out a loud sigh, throwing her head back to gaze at the ceiling instead of Glimmer’s incredulous stare. 

_Of course,_ she bumps into one of Adora’s friends, and it happens to be a friend that never liked her in the first place. This is going to be a loss.

Catra braces herself, straightening her shoulders as Glimmer begins to shout. “What are you doing here?!” 

“I need to see Adora,” Catra says lowly between them, her tone bordering on harsh. When Glimmer scoffs, Catra’s heart begins to beat wilder deep inside her chest; she just _knows_ Glimmer will force her out before she even mutters a single word to Adora. “I need to talk to her-”

“Oh, you are _not_ seeing Adora!” Glimmer interrupts. She puts her hands out in front of her, already reaching out to push Catra out. She shoves lightly at her chest. “Get out!”

Catra shouldn’t push back, Catra shouldn’t step into Glimmer’s space and tower over her, her Docs providing her a glorious few inches over Glimmer - but she does anyway. “You don’t have to cause a fucking scene - “

“Glimmer?” A familiar voice shouts from beside them, and Catra cranes her head to find Bow pushing through the new crowd surrounding them. _Great,_ Catra thinks at the sight of Bow’s heavy glare as he gets closer - gradually stepping into their tense space. 

“You need to get out before Adora sees you,” Bow says, his stern tone leaving no argument. He takes a threatening step towards Catra, but Catra doesn’t step back. “Leave, Catra.”

“No,” Catra breathes out shakingly, claws unsheathing on their own. She holds her head high, her chin upturned to the ceiling as if seeking a challenge. She knows she shouldn’t be this tense, knows that Adora wouldn’t like it - but her nerves are already high and she _needs_ to see Adora’s face at least once.

“I need to apologize to her,” Catra says firmly, ignoring how Glimmer rolls her eyes and Bow squints at her - ignoring how the crowd surrounding her is holding onto each word intently. Digging her claws into her palms to keep herself from doing something stupid, she closes her eyes - exhaling shakingly through her nose.

She needs to calm down.

She breathes deeply, forcing her shoulders to fall now. _Vulnerability is key,_ she notes mentally, recalling Scorpia’s words. 

“I know what I did was wrong. I just need to tell her I’m sorry, then I’ll leave.”

“You broke her heart,” Glimmer angrily says, pointing a shaky finger at her. “ _You_ did that. _You_ are not allowed here. This is her party and you just decide you can waltz in? Who do you think you are -”

“Glimmer?” Adora’s voice cuts through her statement, and the three of them turn in equal horror to Adora now cutting through the crowd

Catra’s heart has stopped completely.

“Get out,” Glimmer whispers harshly to Catra. “Catra, get out _now-_

“What?” Catra whispers back, tensing again. “No-”

“Catra,” Adora says numbly, stopping in front of them. It’s silent now, tension thick in the air - suffocating enough that Catra longs to sink in the floor. “What are you doing here?”

Catra’s breath hitches in her throat, all her thoughts leaving her brain at the sight of Adora. She hasn’t seen her in months. 

Her hair is up in its usual ponytail, stray blonde hairs framing her sharp face. Adora’s cheeks are flushed a blooming red, lips colored a soft pink; the line of her jaw, the slope of her pale neck, the way the blue tank top she’s wearing rests against her collarbones - Catra aches all over at the sight of her. 

“I,” Catra starts. Adora raises an eyebrow. Her legs are shaking beneath her, and she feels like she might faint here - in this spot - with all eyes on her. “I-”

Adora seems to understand - because Adora is _still_ kind and compassionate even when Catra breaks her heart. Catra doesn’t deserve her, she thinks. 

Honestly, Catra’s surprised she isn’t kicking her out. 

“Do you want to take this outside?” Adora roughly says, slightly glancing at the people around them. 

“Yes,” Catra breathes, internally screaming at Glimmer’s mouth opening to retort and Bow putting a consoling hand on Adora’s shoulder. 

“Adora,” Bow says softly. “You don’t need to do this.”

“She wants to tell me something,” Adora quickly says, and she grabs Catra’s hand _hard -_ beginning to pull her away. “C’mon, I’ll take you to the garden out back.” 

“Adora-“ Glimmer interrupts, already moving to stop her, but the way Adora stares at her makes her hand drop from grabbing onto her.

“Fine, but we’ll be waiting, okay?” Glimmer smiles weakly at Adora. She turns to shoot another look of disgust at Catra, and Catra fights off the urge to smirk tauntingly. “We’ll stand nearby.”

Adora nods then look over at the small crowd still surrounding them. She furrows her dark eyebrows, evidently annoyed. “Can you guys move on now?” 

Thankfully, the crowd quickly disperses with a few mumbles and numerous side glances. Catra’s cheeks are burning profusely as Adora leads her to the sliding door across the kitchen - her grip hard, back turned towards her. Bow and Glimmer follow close behind them; Catra can feel their glares at the back of her head. It makes her itch all over.

Catra wonders how Adora looks now, watching her ponytail sway in front of her. Are her cheeks flushed? Is she angry? She seemed shocked when she saw Catra; her expression consisted of mostly confusion, but there was a hint of something - something like _hope._

Will Adora listen? 

She’s pulled out of her thoughts when Adora suddenly lets go of her hand to pull the sliding door open. Adora whips her head around to look at her, her blue eyes averting to Glimmer and Bow behind her before meeting her gaze.

“C’mon.” 

Catra follows her easily, out into the yard where a few people are standing about - down the small, cobblestoned pathway that leads to a patch of greenery further behind her house. Here, they’re away from everyone. Glimmer and Bow stay behind, choosing to lean on the outside wall next to the sliding door; Catra watches as Glimmer goes on her tippy toes to peer at where she and Adora stand.

Catra looks away, moving her head to squint down at the patch of tomatoes instead of staring at Adora.

“So,” Adora starts. Catra can hear an angry tremble in her voice already. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah,” Catra breathes out, moving her head up to peer into Adora’s bright blue eyes. They’re brimmed with tears, and Catra’s hands are shaking. “I just-“ 

The breeze runs through the leaves hanging above them, and Catra jumps at the sound, mostly out of nerves. Adora just watches her the entire time, arms crossed and face pulled in a glare. Her eyes are looking right through her, and Catra feels like she’s a ghost, here, standing in Adora’s garden - struggling with the right words to say.

And she deserves it.

“I know what I did was fucked up,” Catra squeaks, tears threatening to spill from her eyes already. Clenching her jaw, she looks away from Adora’s heavy stare. “I know I shouldn’t have just ran when you told me you loved me, I know it was wrong and I fucked up.” 

Adora is silent as Catra squeezes her eyes shut and wraps her arms around herself - goosebumps running down her arms. She shivers. 

“I don’t even know why you brought me out here, I really don’t deserve a moment of your time.” Catra chokes out. 

“Yeah,” Adora simply says, arms still crossed. “You don’t.” 

“Yeah,” Catra replies quietly. She shifts on her feet, her Docs scuffling across the grass beneath her feet. “I’m sorry.” 

Adora stares at her. 

“I’m sorry for not replying to you, for not - for not returning your calls and ignoring you-“

“Yeah, that was fucked up,” Adora interrupts, voice trembling with anger. Catra looks back at her, looks down at her clenched fists - at the tears running down her pale cheeks. “ _Really_ fucked up.”

“I’m sorry,” Catra whispers, cringing.

“I get it,” Adora’s chokes out. She wipes roughly at her face, hand sliding under her nose - a habit she’s had since she was a child. “I get it that you wouldn’t want me in that way and what I said was a _lot,_ but you didn’t have to just leave me like that, Catra.” 

“I know, I know.” Catra breathes, ears hot and palms sweaty. “And I do want you in that way, Adora. I just-“ 

She looks down at her feet, listens to the crickets behind her - can feel Adora’s eyes on her. “I just, I was scared.” 

“I was scared that I wouldn’t be enough, I was scared of my feelings and I just thought about our past. About Shadow Weaver, about our fallout in sophomore year, about -“ 

Catra inhales sharply, finally looking up to meet Adora’s gaze. Her face is a bright vermillion, eyebrows high; her lips are parted, eyes confused, and the lights coming from the house illuminate the tears on her cheeks. 

She’s all Catra wants.

“I was scared I didn’t deserve you. I was scared of what _could_ happen, you know? And I love you, Adora. I really do-“ And Catra is crying now, tears running wildly down her brown cheeks and a sob escapes her lips with abandon; she finally allows her walls to crumble at their feet, not caring about the rubble that surrounds them.

“And I know I fucked up, and I’m so, _so_ sorry.” 

She brings her hands up to her face, shielding her tear-flushed face from Adora. 

“I’m sorry,” Catra mumbles, sniffling. She breathes in deeply. “I’ll go if you want-“

And then Adora’s pulling her in for a tight hug, leading more tears to rush out - and she clings onto Adora’s back for dear life because this feels like _home;_ the press of Adora’s body’s against her own, her scent, the way her jaw presses against her forehead.

“We’ll work this out, okay?” Adora whispers, and Catra just _cries._ “It’s not going to work out right away, but - we’ll try, okay?” 

Catra nods from where her head hides in Adora’s neck, and she just wraps her arms around Adora’s body tighter - wondering how she went so long without its warmth.

Things will be shaky or a while - she’s well aware of that - but at least she’s in Adora’s arms again, swaying easily with her in her garden. 

“I think,” Catra begins, pulling away, only for Adora to keep her at arm's length. Her heart soars, and she’s sure Adora heard the purr deep within her chest from how she smiles at her. “I think I’ll go now? I can call you later.” 

Adora furrows her eyebrows. “You can just stay.” 

“No,” Catra shakes her head, curls swishing with the movement. “I need to go. I kind of left home without telling my dad anything.”

“Oh,” Adora says, dropping her hands now. It feels awkward, the way Adora rubs at her neck - blue eyes roaming the trees swaying behind them. “I’ll, uh, I’ll walk you to the front?” 

“Yeah,” Catra breathes. She smiles wide, unabashed. “Yeah, that’d be nice.” 

-

Adora guides her through the hallways once more, hand low on her back - with Glimmer and Bow following close behind again.

Glimmer’s eyes had popped out of its sockets at the sight of Adora’s arm wrapped around Catra’s back, and she whispered something quickly in Bow’s ear. Adora just shrugged when Catra questioningly looked up at her. 

Now, Adora stands with her on her front porch, the light flickering above them. The front window’s curtains move slightly; Glimmer is probably watching them. Catra lets herself laugh at that.

“You’ll call me?” Adora asks. 

“Yeah,” Catra says. She turns around to stare at the lawn. “I think someone stole my skateboard.”Suddenly, she feels a wetness press against her cheek and her skin blushes in its wake. Her ears droop against her head and she turns to gape at Adora with wide eyes.

“Your friends are going to kick my ass,” she practically purrs. “They hate me.”

Adora simply smiles wide - white teeth and all - leaning over to kiss her cheek once more. 

“They’ll have to deal with it.” 

**Author's Note:**

> so... who wants to talk about how taylor wrote betty for karlie kloss?? her middle name is elizabeth and taylor was named after james taylor.... she's singing as a boy named james ... anyway 
> 
> leave sum kudos n comments if u feel inclined !!! < 3 might do a bunch of drabbles based on folklore b/c im a lesbian swiftie and am filled with Emotions. have a good one !


End file.
